DANCE ACROSS THE ICE BELLY OF THE WORLD

Ann and I were driving in the car a few weeks ago listening to CBC Radio 1, and heard a reading from a book that was a finalist in a contest called Canada Reads. The author described "power skating" like this -

"Here's what you do. You puff up your spirit till it won't fit in your body anymore. You get your feet to dance across the ice belly of the world. You get empty except for life and the winter wind.

Then, you're going like hell."

As speed skaters, these words connected with us immediately - so we scribbled down the author's name. Ann went out the next day and bought the book which is King Leary by Paul Quarrington.

Today, I heard it won the Canada Reads competition. For readers, skaters and hockey fans - this book is a definite must-read.

CHRONICLES OF THE TRAVELLING SKATES

Thank you to my friend, The Travelling Skates, for this latest edition -

Those who know me well also know that I quickly get itchy and can’t stay in one place very long. I just love to explore new countries and have new experiences. I am very lucky that life brings me opportunities to travel and I would like to share some of my recent skating experiences with you.

PART 1. SCHAATSEN IN GELEENMy home base for the year was not chosen by chance. When my husband asked me where I wanted to go for a sabbatical year, I saw the whole wide world in front of me. Where should we go? We had to find a place where the whole family would be happy. That means a nice working place for my husband, good schools for our boys, and for me… well, I did not have to think too much. I HAD to skate! So after many weeks of heated discussions we came up with a plan. We would stay in Liege, Belgium and, since it’s practically in Liege’s backyard, I could skate in the holy land of speed skating: The Netherlands. So, we packed our 11 suitcases, and of course my skates, and headed for Belgium.

My temporary home oval in now in Geleen (http://www.laco.eu/) in the province of Limburg (southern province of the country), Netherlands. From Liege, it takes a good 45 minutes on the expressway to drive there, but hey, that is nothing for the love of the sport! This sport complex is called Glanerbrook and includes other facilities: pool, gyms, hockey ice and of course an oval. I was told that speed skating is surprisingly not as popular in the south of the the Netherlands as elsewhere, where it’s like a religion, so building the oval in this city was apparently controversial. The oval is an open-air one with high protective sides and very green grass in the center. My free time is mostly during the day and I decided to skate in the morning during the “recreational –public time”. During this time, speed skaters and the public share the ice. Since the weather is never cold, every one sits outside and puts their skates on there. Usually, there are a few packs of skaters on the ice, and their pace can be quite variable. Some skate just to keep in shape, some meet their friends there and talk while doing laps, while some train to do marathons. A group of masters skated the 200kmWeissensee marathon in Austria at the end of January. This event is the alternative for the Elfstedentocht (http://62.50.1.68/sitewide/english.asp), a race on canals in the Netherlands but now slowly “dying” because of climate warming. I was told that Weissensee becomes a dutch dorf (dutch village) for a week.

One day, I saw a skater leading a pack with a superb technique. I was told later that he was Wiel van Aken, a celebrity in town because he won many races and finished first in the masters category in the Weissensee marathon in 2000 and second in the 2003 (see pictures http://www.fotohdeboer.nl/displayimage-18463.html). I could not resist joining the pack and I skated right behind him, following each stride, imitating his weight transfer and waltz. Everything seems so easy behind him. I could do laps forever like this! I also had the chance to be once in a while coached by him and I am also grateful for his help on doing the rocker on my new Maple blades.

Wiel van Aken leading the pack

With time, I have gotten to know several skaters and now feel part of the gang – Leontien, Dave, Andre just to name a few. I will miss them when I return to Canada! During my breaks, I often noticed two ladies skating and chatting together. As they took their break one sunny day, they sat on a bench, took out a blanket to cover their legs and open a thermos of hot coffee. This is life! I love the skating here!

11th MASTERS INTERNATIONAL OPEN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Fifty-four competitors, including 6 women and 48 men laced up skates for this season's edition of the longest-running international competition for masters in North America. This year, the event included an open class as well as 5-year age groups for women and men.

The mixed racing format consisted of metric (olympic style) 500m and 1000m, plus pack-style (mass start) racing over 300m, 500m, 800m, 1000m, 1500m and 3000m. The pack-style races included a heat and a final in 300m, 500m, 800m and 1000m for open class skaters and in the 300m for men 55+.

Although the oldest age class was men 75+, this group included the legendary 85+ Joe McDonald who skated the 500m metric in 1:10.1 and the 1000m metric in 2:28.22, not far off his IMSSC record times set in Calgary last year.

Canadian, Brett Arnason, won all races in the men 55+ group and was the only international skater in attendance.

Men 55+ Podium - Steve Miller (USA), Brett Arnason (CAN) and Ken Huss (USA)
photo by Bruce Connor

The open class was won by Bruce Connor (USA) who took three first-place finishes, 4 seconds and one fifth in 8 final races.

Complete results can be seen here. Overall point standings can be found here.

NORTH AMERICAN MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS

Many thanks to Willem Langenberg of Edmonton for the following report:

Marathon Skaters Beware – the Juniors are Coming

The North American Marathon Speed Skating Championships were held in Edmonton’s Hawrelak Park on February 16th and 17th, during the Silver Skate Festival. This was an opportunity for Edmontonians and visitors to the city to see some of the best North American marathon skaters in action around a 1-kilometer loop on the lake.

The North American Marathon Speed Skating Champions are determined by a skater’s total 25 and 50 K race times. These races are skated on two consecutive days. Top skaters require approximately 1650 kilocalories, the energy equivalent of 3 peanut butter and jam sandwiches, 3 glasses of juice and 3 bananas to skate 75 kilometers. These fuel efficient skaters get in the order of 1000 miles per gallon of gasoline as they travel down the ice at speeds ranging from 25 to 40 km/h.

Jackson Hill (a 17 year old speed skater from Sherwood Park and the youngest overall North American Marathon Speed Skating Champion in history) was the 2008 Male Champion. He completed the 25 K in 49 minutes, 7.1 seconds. Jackson’s father, Blaine was second and Aaron Clarke, an 18 year old Ontario skater who is a University of Calgary engineering student, was third.

Jackson didn’t show any signs of weariness on the second day of racing. He met the challenge of skating against Steven Elm, 2006 Olympic Silver Medal winner. It took Steven only 1 hour, 33 minutes to skate 50 K. Jackson wasn’t far behind him, crossing the finish line 4 minutes later. Aaron Clarke was third while Blaine was fourth.

Edmonton skater Susan Cameron, a Master skater (over 40) who only started speed skating three years ago, was the 2008 Female Champion. Her deliberate determination and steady pace enabled her to finish the 25 K race in 57 minutes 9.3 seconds. Tobey Berriault from Edmonton (training in Calgary) came in second followed by Emily, Jackson’s sister. Eleven year old Ontario skater Paisley Perry surprised everyone by winning the Women’s 50 K race. Her fastest lap speed was 31 km/h! Susan placed second and Mia Atienza from Edmonton placed third.

The strong showing of junior skaters (under the age of 18 as of July 31, 2007) was a highlight of this championship and bodes well for the future of marathon speed skating in Canada. Jackson Hill was first in Junior Men, Aaron Clarke second, and 13 year old Ronald Angenent was a strong third. Paisley was the first in Junior Women.

Complete results can be seen here.

1st MASTERS INTERNATIONAL CANADIAN OPEN

Eleven women and forty-four men competed in the first-ever edition of this international meet in Calgary's Olympic Oval during February 9-10, 2008. The olympic-style racing included 500m and 1500m on Saturday and 1000m and 3000m on Sunday for both women and men. International competitors came from Norway (2), Romania (1), Russia (1) and USA (7) with Canadians travelling from British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

Although ice conditions were a little slower than expected due to unusually cold outdoor weather, several skaters may have managed to set some new record times (subject to official verification) -

Canadian Masters Women 3
Jo-Ann Johnson - 500m (46.89), 1000m (1:32.77), 1500m (2:24.59), 3000m (5:06.90)

IMSSC Men 45
Patrick Kelly (CAN) - 1000m (1:17.51)

IMSSC Men 55
Brynjulf Makestad (NOR) - 1000m (1:23.07)

IMSSC Men 65
Knut Nesse (NOR) - 1000m (1:29.52), 1500m (2:13.98), Small Allround Samalog Points (182.228)

With many of the elite and younger skaters away racing or preparing to race in Quebec City, Milwaukee, Berlin and Inzell; masters were given plenty of additional ice time for both pre-race and post-race training. Some of this extra ice time was put to good use in a mass start 25 lap race on Sunday afternoon after official events had been completed.

Unofficial events also featured an open house pot-luck dinner on Saturday evening for all competitors, family and friends at the home of Calgary master skater, Brian Sulzer.

Some complete results can be seen here.

LAKEFIELD MASTERS CHALLENGE

Last week's warm weather and major snow storm in southern Ontario created challenges for the hard-working volunteers trying to prepare a natural ice track on the site of the future Ontario Oval in Lakefield. Once the heavy wet snow from last Friday's blizzard was removed, the track was found to not be skate-able for the approximately 25 masters who turned out from Ottawa, Kingston, Belleville, Peterborough, Hamilton and Kitchener for the Saturday afternoon events. Participants were, however, treated to dinner and socializing that evening at the nearby Lakefield Marshland Centre.

Repairs and additional flooding were carried out late Saturday and, with colder temperatures overnight, skaters were able to do the first laps on this long-awaited track on Sunday morning. Alicia Weiss reported -

We got on the ice today! Half was decent; half was very mushy and tough to glide - if you had speed, you were better off ... we skated an elimination race - 5k with a pace bunny (OSSA's Director of Sport Development, Todd Landon) then 15 laps (there were 15 skaters) then each lap, the last person across the line was eliminated; we could only pass on half the track (not on the mushy side).

See Alicia's photos and additional commentary.

BYTOWN MARATHONS RE-SCHEDULED

Event coordinator and competitor, Jake Maarse, has advised the competition, previously cancelled due to the early January thaw, is now re-scheduled for March 1 to 2 on Ottawa's Brewer Park Oval. All other information is the same.

Jake is also inviting others to join him for a 150 km skate tour on Ottawa's Rideau Canal during February 15 which is also the National Capital's 150th birthday celebration. Although not a formal organized event, Jake's plan is to raise some funds for the Ottawa Rotary Home.

Go Jake go!

For more information, contact Jake at jakemaarse@rogers.com.

CALGARY OLYMPIC OVAL SUMMER CAMP

Registration is now open for this summer's edition of the masters long track camp during July 21 to 26. Additional information and application form is available here.

2007 Olympic Oval Campers - Photo by Arno Hoogveld